


Celestial Touchdown

by Flashofhope



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Bumblebee and Jazz drive Ratchet crazy, Gen, The Autobots pick new names for themselves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-09-29 01:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17193986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flashofhope/pseuds/Flashofhope
Summary: A continuation of the movie 'Bumblebee' featuring drabbles with six of my chosen Autobots. Also featuring a reunion between Bumblebee and Charlie, one year later.





	1. Celestial Touchdown

**H-095**

Like asteroids descending upon our planet, the outer bodies of six Autobot rebels burned up upon entering the Earth's atmosphere. Much like asteroids, each metallic body had its own trajectory that sent the Cybertronian survivors on different paths. Paths which would leave each Autobot with very different first impression of the blue and green planet they had sought refuge for.

Coming in hot, the Autobot designated as H-095 hurtled towards Sector 7's base, crash landing on one of the Jeeps parked on the outside of the compound.

Stunned by the impact, H-095 adjusted his optics and honed in on a human with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Another alien robot from outer space. Why am I not surprised?" Agent Burns remarked with amusement to the Autobot laying on top of a crushed Jeep.

But this was no laughing matter. With no active energon signal nearby, H-095 had no way of tracking of finding his friends.

"Please, you must help me find the Autobots." H-095 got up from the flattened Jeep and pleaded, growing uneasy at the situation he found himself in.

"I don't know where your robot buddies are." Burns told him unhelpfully and began walking away to file a damage report. That would be a fun surprise for his superiors.

"You said you encountered one of my kind. Do you know of their whereabouts? H-095 asked again, reluctant to let his only source of intel leave. Without Optimus and the others, he would have to rely on unlikely allies.

"Bumblebee? Haven't seen him since he destroyed the Decepticons." Burns recalled his last encounter with Bumblebee, the day before. If anyone knew what the bot was up to next, it sure as hell wasn't him.

"So, what's your name soldier?" Burns asked H-095, when his optics betrayed a hint of disappointment.

"My name is H-095."

"Why don't I call you, Hound? Because that's kind of what you were doing before. You were hounding me." Burns gently broke it to Hound that he had been questioning a lost cause with him.

Hounding: harass, persecute, or pursue relentlessly. Hound searched up the definition of the word on the interconnected web and realized that he had irritated the first human he'd met on this planet.

Optics falling with sadness, Burns felt a twinge a guilt for giving Hound his honest opinion. "Don't do that, you look like a kicked puppy."

"What's a puppy?"

"It's a pet. Don't you have them on your planet? You know what, nevermind."

**Ratchet  
**

Working at a junkyard at the end of the day, two teens—Dean and Marcus finished updating the junkyard inventory, as their supervisor Anne headed out early.

"Don't forget to turn off the lights and lock up when you're done, OK?"

"Okay." The boys said in unison and re-arranged forms to make it look like they were busy. Once Anne was gone, Dean put up his dirt streaked sneakers on a table used for organizing spare parts and had some Oreo cookies with Marcus. As the teens relished their unsupervised freedom, something bright falling from the sky caught Marcus' eye.

"Are those fireworks?" Marcus asked, spotting a glare of light from the reflection in a window from the corner of his eye.

"No, man. It looks like an asteroid heading right for us!" Dean looked towards the window and exclaimed. Or was it a space shuttle straight out of Star Wars? Dean couldn't wait to find out.

Now in range of the junkyard, the celestial object plummeted into a junk pile with a deafening crash, making the boys cover their ears. After mustering the courage to go outside, Dean shined a flash light on a smouldering junk pile and a 20 foot robot standing beside it.

"Oh...my...God. Is it a terminator?" Marcus whispered, as if lowering his voice had a chance of making the potential T-800 robot not hear him.

While the boys discussed how having blue optics meant he was friendly, Ratchet conducted an internal diagnostic, which read: No damage sustained, on his display.

"Hey, mister Robot can you take that engine off the pile?" Dean asked Ratchet, to prove his hunch and pointed to an engine on top of a junk pile, otherwise unreachable without Ratchet's help.

"We want to make some money on the side... for our families." Marcus added to make Dean's request more convincing. Did robots even have families? Or were they just models off the manufacturing line? Marcus wondered and hoped Ratchet would be kind enough to help them.

The request seemed harmless enough. Ratchet thought and picked up an engine in near perfect condition from the pile and dropped it near the boys' feet. "Will this do?"

"Dude, that's rad!"

Happy to have been of service, Ratchet transformed into a Cybertronian ambulance and drove away to meet up with Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots. Leaving the boys with some thoughts of their own.

"Did you see that?! He turned into an ambulance!" Dean exclaimed, overjoyed at witnessing a giant robot turn into an ambulance.

"I want a toy like that."

**J-472**

Surrounded by beaches with beautiful views of the ocean, tranquil and lush forests and parks nearby, Brighton Falls was a rich and inviting place, J-472 thought as he cruised through the town that was to be his new home for the time being.

J-472 understood the appeal of wanting to settle down in a place like this. What he didn't understand was the humans' displays sprayed on walls, like iron oxidizing on metal.

"Looks pretty jazzy." A boy remarked about the graffiti of the red eyed skeleton spinning a vinyl disc, while walking by with his friends.

'Jazzy.' J-472 liked the sound of that. It might even come in handy as new name. "I wonder what Ratchet will make of humans depicting the inside of their frames as art?" Jazz thought as he drove towards the rendez-vous point with his friends.


	2. Sting Like a Bell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bumblebee and Jazz drive Ratchet crazy and Arcee helps him learn to take a break

**Bike**

Ratchet arrived at the Autobot rendezvous—a cavern located in the Redwood National Park, as dusk began falling. Under the waning sunlight, the weary rebels took shelter in the cavern, where their leader Optimus Prime delivered a rousing message to lift their spirits.

"My friends, we have all been granted safe passage to Earth because of the actions of one individual. Though our future is uncertain, together we will forge a path towards a better Cybertron. Until all are one."

Like a beacon of hope, Optimus Prime's words cleared the cloud of apprehension hanging over his friends' sparks. Bolstering the conviction they would need to begin the preparation of their base the next day.

While the mechanically gifted Autobots set to work constructing the base and installing a mainframe for mission support and communications, the others not on shift passed the time in other ways. To Ratchet's chagrin.

Ratchet was tolerant of the old bicycle Bumblebee had taken apart, at first. Throwing the bicycle wheel in the air like a frisbee was a good way of keeping reflexes sharp. Jazz stumbling into walls to catch the flying object wasn't even that bothersome, as long as he didn't crash into important equipment. What Ratchet couldn't tolerate was that slagging bell.

Long periods of alternating between work and breaks had put Bumblebee in a playful mood. When playing frisbee wasn't enough to entertain, Bumblebee took great delight on sneaking up on bots and ringing the small bell he had detached from the bike. But Bumblebee's antics soon came to an end when he chose the wrong target.

"Bumblebee, if you don't stop ringin' that bell, I'm gonna pound you into a garbage cube." Ironhide warned the young bot, having had enough of the constant distractions.

Putting his hands up like a criminal obeying police instructions, Bumblebee dropped the bell which clattered on the floor and made a hasty getaway.

**Ambulance**

In the following weeks of constructing the Autobot base, not once did Ratchet think to take some time off for himself. He took the mandatory daily breaks, of course, but never used them like everyone else. Jazz enjoyed listening to music, Prowl utilized breaks for conducting drills, while Hound and Ironhide observed Earth's terrain for reconnaissance.

Dwelling on the past was Ratchet's choice of pastime, who used this time to mourn his fallen brethren and dwell on the sorry state of Cybertron.

Arcee, who recognized the sad look in his optics was having none of it, and asked Ratchet to join her on a cliff top—the end of a trail with a gorgeous view of the beach below that Ratchet was sure to appreciate.

"So, what did you want to show me, Arcee?" The worn medic asked Arcee, after driving through the wide open roads surrounding the Redwood National Park.

" _This_." Arcee emphasized their vantage point, overlooking the beach below. "You've been working so hard, you barely have any time to enjoy the scenery."

"It has its charms." Ratchet begrudgingly acknowledged the beauty of the planet that had given them all a second chance.

Ratchet and Arcee admired the view of seagulls soaring the sky and the waves gently lapping the shore, until a sense of calmness washed over them and they were ready to leave. The two took a trail home, quietly taking in the warm amber and pink tones of the setting sun, when they encountered two people who looked in need of help.

A woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, was using her shoulder to support the weight of her limping grandfather. Who by the look on his face, seemed less pained than his worried granddaughter.

"It's not your fault, Susan. _I'm_ the one who wanted to go hiking. I didn't think I would lose my footing." The older man reassured the young lady, fraught with regret.

"But I was so looking forward to spending a nice day out with you. We should have picked something safer." Susan cried out, thinking of all the different outings they could have done, that wouldn't have resulted in bruising her grandfather's leg.

"You can't see a sunset like this, sitting at home playing Scrabble, now can you?"

"You're right…" Susan smiled at her grandfather, giving Ratchet who had overheard the whole conversation an idea.

"Need a ride?" Ratchet opened the doors of his ambulance mode, as the two family members walked by.

" _Okay_?" Susan, who was beginning to tire from carrying her grandfather, hesitantly agreed. Who was she to deny the helpful offer?

"What's an ambulance and a pink convertible doing in the middle of a trail?

"Enjoying the trail just like you." Ratchet answered, making the skeptical Cecil frown with skepticism. "...While we search for the owner of the convertible of who reported an injury." Ratchet added, after thinking carefully. Finally convincing the stubborn Cecil.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Cecil asked impatiently and took Susan's hand, who hauled him into the ambulance.

Not wanting to blow their cover, Arcee stayed back, while Ratchet drove the cranky patient to his car. They were alike in many ways. Adventurous, yet caring. Stubborn, but quick to shoulder blame upon themselves. Ratchet had spared the man the discomfort of a long, arduous walk home. And Arcee hoped that seeing a mirror reflection of himself, had helped Ratchet allow others to help _him_.

**Junkyard**

Ratchet knew that building an Autobot headquarters with finite amount of materials was going to be difficult.  
Most scouting trips at local junkyards who wouldn't miss a car or two, proved to be fruitful in 'reappropriating' (as Prowl logically put it) metal to build their base of operations. But the owners of said junkyards would eventually catch on to the missing goods, and the Autobots had no choice but to move on.

Jazz, on the other hand didn't take kindly to sitting on his afterburners doing nothing and brought in some questionable, but useful income earned by his after hours drag racing. A pity the Autobots had no way of walking into a store and acquiring what they needed.

But maybe they didn't have to.

Placing his trust in the two adolescents he had encountered during his first contact with Earth, Ratchet and Hound travelled to the junkyard Dean and Marcus worked at.

"His antennas were grey."

" _No!_ They were red, to match the colour of an ambulance. His face was grey, that's what you're remembering." Dean corrected Marcus, as the boy who misremembered the exact details of the Autobot medic attempted to draw Ratchet from memory.

Tap, tap, tap. A knocking on the window interrupted their conversation. The giant robot had brought a friend.

"There's more of you?!" Marcus asked with astonishment, drinking in the appearance of the tall, green Autobot standing beside Ratchet. There was no way he could forget the colours of that one. He looked just like the Jeep in his toybox. Amongst his several green, plastic toy soldiers he employed to conduct imaginary warfare in his bedroom.

"Our numbers are bigger than meets the eye." Hound agreed, which was another way of saying: There's more of us, but we're not telling you how many.

"But my _friend_ here tells me, that he did you two a little favour. Do you think you could find us some sheets of metal and cars that won't attract suspicion if they went missing?" Hound asked, diverting their attention to the task at hand.

"You'll be well compensated." Ratchet added, producing a brown shoulder bag filled with bank notes.

"Uh… yeah. Let me see what I can find." Marcus ran back to the office. Leaving the door open enough for his uncle's dog Elvis they were dog sitting, to make his getaway.

Uncertain what to make of the figure almost as tall as a tree, Elvis approached the towering Hound with caution.

"That's Elvis. The dog Marcus' uncle sometimes brings when he drops us off. Our boss, Anne even lets him stay with us sometimes!" Dean explained, happy to talk about his cool, understanding boss.

Crouching down to make himself less threatening, Hound reached out to the 'hound dog' who had warmed up to him and patted his first Earth animal, who wagged his tail with appreciation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Only 90's kids will remember this. Like if you got the Transformers Animated reference. The time jump with Charlie will be in the next chapter (also the last.)
> 
> There were some things like a source of replenishable metal that I needed to establish, so the base would be completed in the future.


	3. Who Framed B-127?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bumblebee reunites with an old friend at a drive-through theatre

**The Name's _Ironhide_**

Megacycles passed and Ratchet was beginning to think that Hound and Ironhide had lost their footing on rocky terrain and sunk into the ocean. Why else would they be so late? When Optimus Prime had specifically instructed them to limit their time spent on reconnaissance missions and not stay out too late.

Ratchet's concerns were soon justified when Hound and Ironhide came in. The latter clutching his arm defensively, not wanting anyone to see that him in a compromised state.

"What happened?" Ratchet asked and walked over to Ironhide, casting aside any dismay to examine the bot for injuries.

"I ain't damaged. Just stings a little." Ironhide brushed off Ratchet's attempts to 'fuss over' him and headed towards his quarters.

In this mood, Ratchet was unlikely to get any answers from Ironhide.

"We were heading back to the base, when he got struck by lightning." Hound offered an explanation, when he was certain Ironhide was out of hearing range.

That explains the tardiness. Ratchet thought and made a mental note of suggesting new protocols to Optimus about going on missions in bad weather conditions.

—

In the secret Sector Seven facility, an energy signature Jack Burns thought he'd never see again, appeared on the register. Energon.

"So, that's where you've been hiding. How nostalgic." Jack uttered to himself and headed to his next destination—The location of his first encounter with Bumblebee and their base of operations apparently; Redwood National Park.

Jack parked his Jeep beside a large boulder, partially blocking the entrance to the cave the Autobots had gathered in. It's like leaving a key under the doormat. He observed. The stone may serve its purpose at keeping prying eyes away from the mouth of the cave, but it wasn't a trained government agent.

"Anyone home?" Jack cried out. The low visibility of his surroundings, suddenly making him feel unwelcome. He had been lucky to being on good terms with Bumblebee and Hound. But the rest of the Autobots? Jack had no way to tell how they'd react.

In the darkness of the cave, Jack made out two glowing blue optics, that might as well have been the red reticle of a sniper rifle.

"State your business, if you want to keep yer head on your shoulders." The hulking figure of Ironhide growled, aiming his blaster at Jack's head.

Okay. So the red one meant business. Jack steeled himself, while at the mercy of the gun in the giant robot's hand. More intel for my files.

" _Hold your fire!_ He's with me." Bumblebee stood between Jack and the trigger happy Ironhide, with his arms out to shield his human ally.

"You didn't tell them about me, soldier? I'm shocked." Jack asked, pretending to be offended by Bumblebee's oversight.

"Guys, this is agent Burns. He's _'Earth's_ _first line of_ _defens_ e' against... hostiles." Bumblebee informed the Autobots, saying the last word Agent Burns had once considered him with distaste.

"We've met." Hound stated a little coldly.

"What brings you here, Agent Burns?" Optimus Prime sensed the tension in the room and asked, on behalf of all his crew. His calm voice defusing the situation, for the moment.

"I came here to offer you an extension of friendship. If the Decepticons ever show up gain, the Earth needs you to be ready. And your base looks like it could use some better tech." Jack gave his proposal to the Autobots and awaited their response.

" _Our_ installations are fully capable of detecting Decepticon activity." Wheeljack retorted, defending the work he had completed for the last several weeks.

"I don't deny it. But scraps from junkyards will only carry you so far. Let us help you." Agent Burns appealed to their cause.

It seemed to Optimus Prime, that both parties would benefit from co-operation and after careful consideration, gave Agent Burns his answer. "We will consider your proposal."

"Great! We'll keep things low-key with small teams and you'll barely know we're there." Jack exclaimed, his upbeat manner secretly peeving Ratchet. That's what they all say. Ratchet thought. But soon the base would be crawling with humans, with their distracting chatter.

"I'll be on my way then. See you around Bumblebee. _Red_." Jack nodded to the familiar Autobots, as he gave his good-byes.

"My name's _Ironhide!_ "

"Ironhide. I'll add it to my files."

**Drive-through**

As the primary engineer for the Autobots, Wheeljack's crowning achievement was getting the Autobot headquarters in running condition. Decked out with monitors and computer terminals, courtesy of Sector Seven, and steel plates covering the natural walls to reduce humidity. The base was completed within a year. Leaving Wheeljack with no excuse when Bumblebee begged him to see a movie with him at a local drive-through theatre.

Their choice of movie—Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

A comedic film where cartoons and humans co-exist and a rabbit named Roger must clear his name of a murder he didn't commit.

As the movie goers roared with laughter in their cars, Bumblebee and Wheeljack couldn't help but honk their horns with amusement. It was moments like the exasperated detective Eddie Valiant screaming at Roger to get out of his chair, that made Bumblebee feel a warmth in his spark. Like the feeling he got, after getting a hug from Charlie.

But like many movies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? soon took a dark turn when an innocent toon was slowly dissolved. Framed from the beginning as a dangerous criminal like Roger and tortured until his systems shut down. Painful memories began to surface. Too painful to watch the film any further.

It was then, that the curious Charlie Watson noticed a Camaro racing away from the parked cars towards a road and decided to follow it.

Haunted by the cruelty of the Decepticons, Bumblebee hunched himself over and shook his head, desperately trying to rid himself of the painful reminders of his brush with death.

"Bumblebee?" Bumblebee's audio receptors recognized the familiar, female voice. But the young bot made no attempts to open his optics and free himself of the memories freezing him in his place.

"When I saw the Camaro storming off, I thought, 'Maybe it's Bumblebee. Maybe I'll see him after all this time.' But I didn't want it to be like this..." Charlie slowly approached Bumblebee and stroked his back. Her gentle touch bringing Bumblebee back to the present moment.

"You want to go back and see how the movie ends?" Charlie asked, hoping the end of the movie would make Bumblebee feel better.

"Bzzt. _Negative_." Bumblebee turned her down. How could the movie possibly turn out well, after what he'd just seen?

"Then listen to it with your sensors. What are they saying?"

" _Come on Roger. Let's go home. I'll bake you a carrot cake."_ Bumblebee played the audio back of Jessica Rabbit, rewarding her heroic husband with a delicious treat.

"See? The movie has a happy ending." Charlie reassured Bumblebee and the two friends returned to drive-through together.

"Wheeljack, ' _Say hello to my little friend_!' Bumblebee exuberantly introduced Charlie to the mech, who replied with mock jealousy.

"Don't _I_ get a passenger?"

Joining her that evening, a young man fit the bill, was Charlie's date—Memo. Who saw the opportunity to let Charlie catch up with her robot buddy and still be beside her.

" _I_ could be your passenger." Memo replied and entered Wheeljack's vehicle mode, and enjoyed watching the movie's credits alongside Charlie and Bumblebee.

**Good Bot, Bad Cop**

When Jazz was given a heads-up by Sector Seven that a transaction would be taking place between a black market dealer and the Decepticons, he didn't know _what_ to say to the shady man wearing a mismatched bright orange vest against a dark jacket. Except maybe to wear something a little less conspicuous.

"Don't you think selling tech to the Decepticons is a bad idea?" Jazz confronted the man, clutching a parcel protectively.

"They said you were infiltrating the government, that you were the bad guys!" The man explained, as if doing business with Decepticons intent on subjugating the Earth was the right thing to do.

So he was dealing with one of _those_ gullible crackpots. When a siren blared and a police car came into the scene after that, Jazz was grateful for the interruption.

"I'm not selling anything illegal. You've got nothing on me!" The man raged and attempted to run away, when he ran into the 20 feet tall form of the Autobot Prowl.

"I'm not going to read you your rights." Prowl said sternly. "But if you ever try something like this again... the police won't be the only thing you have to worry about." Jazz finished, making the man drop the parcel and running away in fright.

"Well, that was _easy_. Thanks for the assist." Jazz thanked his partner Prowl—the bot who had made a criminal fear police vehicles more, from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my story. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the last chapter of my Bumblebee drabbles.

**Author's Note:**

> After I saw Bumblebee, I knew I wanted to come up with my own Autobot roster. This is their introduction. The Charlie & Bee reunion story will be in the last chapter.


End file.
